Laura L. Barnes: Copyright

More Copyright

Wired News: Anti-Copy Bill Hits D.C.. Sen. Fritz Hollings has fired the first shot in the next legal battle over Internet piracy. The Democratic senator from South Carolina finally has introduced his copy protection legislation, ending over six months of anticipation and sharpening what has become a heated debate between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. [Tomalak's Realm]

There's more on this over at the Shifted Librarian. It sounds like yet more draconian measures, this time from the film industry.

Update on Google v. Scientology Church v. Google.

Over at Microcontent News, John Hiler provides a very detailed examination of the current Google versus Scientology controversy, which has the online world watching the search engine's every move. Apparently they've started re-instating Xenu.net links, but John's article catches you up on all of the various aspects of what's going on. He also - rightly - ties the rise of Google to the religious fervor it inspires in information workers, especially librarians.

"If anyone worships at the altar of Google, it is librarians, the high priests of the information world....

Google is almost like a religion of its own, especially for information workers. Ask any techie and they will all swear by Google's search of Microsoft's website. Librarians have an even deeper faith in the power of Google. This belief in Google has spread throughout the world, making Google as much of a faith as it is a brand.

From this perspective, deleting information from the Google Cache would be like stealing holy icons out of the Vatican. Google is well aware of this perception - but of course, needs to balance this with its own fiduciary responsibilities.

In the end, the Church of Scientology™ may have finally come up against the one religion it can't litigate out of existence: Google, the world's favorite search engine."

Can I get an amen!

[The Shifted Librarian]

More on Scientology Essay: Scientology and the First Amendment. [Scripting News]

Google No Longer Includes Anti-Scientology Web Sites Google Yanks Anti-Church Sites. Google used to include sites critical of the Church of Scientology. Now it doesn't, because Scientology is claiming copyright violations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington. [Wired News] So much for free speech. The Church of Scientology is up to their old tricks.

Business Week on Copyright and the Music Industry Business Week, of all places, has a clear-headed analysis of the dead-end that the music industry has driven itself into. [Scripting News]

Three on Copyright All of these links came from RRE-L. You really should subscribe. Disney, the Copyright Term Extension Act, and Eldred v. Ashcroft How a Subversive Legal Theory Can Make a Good Copyright Case Go Bad Outline of the fight between the copyright interests and the geeks

Publisher Contracts as Restraint-of-Trade When Publishing Contracts Go Bad [Slashdot] Some of this stuff is downright scary.

DMCA in Court Newsweek: Locking Up Your Rights. Steven Levy. The main event comes on April 1, when the judge hears Burton's motions to dismiss on constitutional grounds. Though his argument gets technical, attacking what he calls "vagueness" in the DMCA, the bottom line is this: how can it be a crime to allow people legal access to what they legally paid for? [Tomalak's Realm]